Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Decking the Halls While Protecting Your Home



Happy Holidays! It's that time of year again to bring out all the lights and decor for your homes and get in that holiday spirit. But before you start putting up all your decorations, take a minute to go over these tips to avoid putting your home in danger after the holiday season is over. 

1. Safety First:

Protecting yourself is the first priority when decorating your home.  When setting up ladders, make sure you are setting them on level ground. Use good common sense when hanging lights; the lights or decoration may not always need to be at the most hard to reach areas of the home.  If you are not especially fond of heights in the first place, call a professional to hang the lights.  You can usually find companies that will do this work for you.

2. Roof Eaves:

In the event that you are hanging lights along the eaves of the home, there are some clips that can be hooked to the fascia of the home without damaging the roof.  We commonly see homes where homeowners have placed small nails into the edge of the roof, through the roofing material as a place to hang the strand of lights.  Those nails or staples are now holes once the holidays are over and will become water intrusion points to create rotten roof decking.

The clips are relatively inexpensive when compared to the cost of repairing your roof or replacing rotten wood.  

$$ Saving Tip: 
Attach Wires With Clothespins
Instead of poking nails into aluminum soffits and fascia when you're hanging holiday lights, clip the wires to the bottom lips of the fascia with clothespins.
       
       

     


3. Roof Fixtures and Decorations:

Some people choose to put fixtures on the roof such as:  wooden cutouts, inflatable decorations, and lighting.  If you will be using these types of decorations this year, make sure that the fixtures are not penetrating the roofing system. However, it is important to secure these fixtures to the roof to prevent them from coming loose during a storm and potentially sliding off the roof and landing on you or holiday visitors.  Lighting should not be used on your roof system.  The use of staples or nails through the roof membrane will jeopardize the integrity of your roof.

4. Testing Your Electrical Decorations:

Always test the lighting equipment prior to hanging them up.  This will save you a lot of time in the long run.  Any light strand that does not seem to be working properly should not be used.  That one strand of lights with the electrical short is a potential fire hazard.  Along those same lines, avoid overloading electrical plugs and electrical circuits in the home.  If a breaker is throwing when you turn your holiday lights on, you will need to find other sources of power using other breakers in the home.

5. Read Safety Labels on Decorations:

Many of today's decorations are made with products that are highly flammable. Be very mindful of this since placement will be very important.  Also, placing lighting on these types of decorations can be ill advised.  Avoid these decorations being placed near fireplaces or mantels.  


6. Live Christmas Trees:

For those homeowners who still subscribe to the tradition of picking out a live tree for your home, water them daily.  Since the weather is traditionally somewhat colder, most homes will be running the heat at times.  Central heat, when left on for some time, can dry out a Christmas tree quickly.  The other common loss of water can be due to the family dog or cat drinking the water from the tree stand.  If the tree should get dry, the needles will begin to drop and the chance for a fire hazard increases.

7. Examine The Exterior of Your Home: 

As we all enjoy the holidays, we tend to have more visitors at our home than at any other time of the year.  Examine the exterior of your home to make sure the broken sidewalk, small hole in the yard, or just that stuff you have been procrastinating on putting away is all resolved prior to those visitors arriving. Although you know these things are visible, your visitors do not and can get injured while at your home. 

In conclusion, the holidays are always a time to reflect on your family, your friends, and your blessings.  Remember the reason for the season.  Be safe and protect your biggest investment...your family and your home! 

Happy Holidays from Leak Masters Roofing!  
www.lmroofingcontractors.com